The First of the Three R’s of Recycling

The three R’s of recycling forms the basis of waste management. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Reduce what you consume

One of the simplest ways to contribute to the 3R’s of waste management, is to reduce what will eventually become waste in some form or another.

It might sound over-simplified, but you will be surprised to find how many ways there are to make do with less and so avoid attributing to the heap of waste you accumulate.

Make or Buy ?

Making or mixing your own often saves on packaging, reduces chemicals added to products to increase rack life, reduce your exposure to these toxins and saves you money.

Below are a couple of easy ways to use what is in your cupboards and avoid running out to the store.

Greeting Cards

Greeting cards, invitations and gift cards often get thrown away as soon as they are read. Make your own cards using all manners of items lying around in the house. Use left over paper, material, buttons, string, shells, ribbons, lost shoe laces and glitter to start you off. Add to that a pair of scissors, some glue a project cutting knife and you have a project.

Switch off the TV and get everyone involved. Let the creative juices flow and soon you’ll have a stack of cards that tell those you love just how much you appreciate them.

Clean your house green

Mixing up your own cleaning ingredients may sound complicated, but it is simple, fast, reduces your footprint as well as you exposure to chemical toxins in regular cleaning products. It also reduces the amount of garbage you add to landfills because you reuse your containers.

Here are some links to simple green cleaning solutions using only a handful of ingredients:

Mix up your own drinks

Here are a couple of delicious recipes that are super easy to make at home of even at the office to put winter sniffles at bay and keep you hydrated at a fraction of the cost of store bought drinks and with no additional wastage.